Fire, flooding damage Newport apartments

No one was home, except the fish, when a fire sparked behind a large aquarium inside a Newport Beach apartment.

Luckily, a sprinkler system went off, confining the flames Wednesday to a second-floor unit, the city fire department's senior investigator said.

Capt. Glenn White said the fire in the Baypointe apartments could have been much worse if not for the sprinklers. Fire alarms had alerted other residents in the building, and no one was hurt.

Other than the fish, that is.

"No survivors," said White, who didn't know what kinds of creatures were in the aquarium. The apartment's residents couldn't be reached.

The heat from the fire caused the saltwater aquarium's glass to shatter, and the resulting torrent, combined with water from the sprinklers and the firefighters' hoses, caused water damage in the apartment and the one below it.

The electrical fire apparently started in the aquarium's power supply. It caused about $70,000 in damage between the two apartments. White said roughly 60 percent of that was water, smoke and fire damage in the second-floor unit, and the rest was water damage in the downstairs neighbor.

Firefighters got a call reporting the fire on Baypointe Drive at 8:30 p.m. They could see smoke when they arrived, but quickly extinguished the fire once they got inside.

White said similar fires have started near saltwater tanks through a phenomenon called "salt creep." Moisture blown into the air, including by aerating stones, can land on electrical components. As the water dries, it leaves salt behind.

Over time, the accumulating salt can keep electrical components them from cooling themselves normally, posing a risk of fire.

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